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Tonight is a special night for The Delawares. It's the date of their first release - a 5-track E.P. entitled "The Space Between Us". From the sound of tonight's performance, there mustn't be much space between each member of the Belfast-based folk-rock collective; their set sounding tighter than a beegee's underpants.

Established local promoters, Gifted, have organized tonight's showcase. Three local bands offer their support before tonight's main attraction take position. The 45s, The Greeters and The Cartoon Thieves all do their thing with differing levels of conviction, but throughout these warm-ups there is no real doubt why the crowd is here tonight - to see The Delawares.

It's refreshing to see a bunch of talented musicians writing what is essentially intelligent country music, rather than jumping on a bandwagon and writing disposable indie nonsense that will be forgotten about before it's even released. No, The Delawares have got the whole alternative country thing down to a tee, and even blend it at points with touches of psychedelia and 60s rock. There's an obvious nod to the likes of Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, but that's balanced against a background of slightly more covert homage, paid to the likes of The Beach Boys, and at times, Pink Floyd.

There's a fair few onstage - somewhere between seven and ten; it's hard to tell. You can't help but get the feeling that if each person onstage brought just two mates that would fill the venue alone. But the age of tonight's crowd ranges from 18 to 58, something which you don't see to often at local gigs where the band is of a relatively young age, and the fact that The Empire is jam-packed by the time the Delawares take to the stage is a testament to how hard this band have worked over the past few years to mould from the local scene a strong and steadfast following.

The stand out tune played tonight, and featured on the E.P., has got to be Learning to Love - a snaking vocal set against a lazy southern beat, before breaking into a full-on classic rock hoedown. It's like After the Goldrush meeting Youth And Young Manhood; like Gram Parsons discovering amphetamines whilst sitting on his porch in Georgia. Let's hope this is just the first release in a long line of good things to come.

Sully